There are many known conditions that affect the electrical impulses that drive the normal operation of the heart. Atrial fibrillation is one common cardiac arrhythmia involving the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. In atrial fibrillation, disorganized′ electrical impulses that originate in the atria and pulmonary veins overwhelm the normal electrical impulses generated by the sinoatrial node, leading to conduction of irregular impulses to the ventricles that generate the heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation can result in poor contraction of the atria that can cause blood to recirculate in the atria and form clots. Thus, individuals with atrial fibrillation have a significantly increased risk of stroke. Atrial fibrillation can also lead to congestive heart failure or, in extreme cases, death.
Common treatments for atrial fibrillation include medications or synchronized electrical cardioversion that convert atrial fibrillation to a normal heart rhythm. Surgical-based therapies have also been developed for individuals who are unresponsive to or suffer serious side effects from more conventional treatments. The surgical techniques include making incisions in the right and left atria to block propagation of the abnormal electrical impulse around the atrial-chamber.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0256522 to Francischelli et al. (Francischelli) discloses a surgical-based technique for creating linear lesions along the heart wall by making an incision and inserting a jaw of a dual jawed ablation head into the heart and clamping a selected portion of the heart wall between the jaws. The jaws are used to measure the thickness of the heart wall tissue. A known clamping force is applied to the jaws, from which a strain on the heart wall tissue can be inferred. Based on the thickness of the heart wall, a combination of jaw force, RF energy and ablation time is selected to fully ablate the clamped tissue. The strain imposed by the jaws is also used to infer the transmurality of the lesion.
Catheter-based contact ablation techniques have evolved as a minimally invasive alternative to surgical-based techniques, and also as an alternative for individuals who are unresponsive to or suffer serious side effects from more conventional treatments (e.g., medications). Contact ablation techniques involve the ablation of groups of cells near the pulmonary veins where atrial fibrillation is believed to originate, or the creation of extensive lesions to break down the electrical pathways from the pulmonary veins located on the posterior wall of the left atrium. Methods of energy delivery include radiofrequency, microwave, cryothermy, laser, and high intensity ultrasound. The contacting probe is placed into the heart via a catheter that enters veins in the groin or neck and is routed to the heart, thus negating the need for an incision in the heart wall from the outside. The probe is then placed in contact with the posterior wall of the left atrium and energized to locally ablate the tissue and electrically isolate the pulmonary veins from the left atrium. Where complete electrical isolation is desired, the process is repeated to form a continuous line of ablated tissue between the left atrium and the pulmonary veins.
The advantages of contact ablation techniques have been recognized; there is no open body and thus risks of infection and recuperation time are reduced. Further, utilizing the aforementioned techniques often reduce or remove the need of pacing hardware or other forms of electronic or mechanical therapy.
Lesion depth is an important parameter in determining the effectiveness of RF ablation therapy in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Generally, sufficient contact force between the ablation head and the target tissue for a given ablation power is required.
On the other hand, excessive contact force can result in the phenomenon of “steam pops.” Steam pops are a risk associated particularly with irrigated radiofrequency catheter ablation, wherein subsurface heating causes rapid vaporization and expansion that disrupts the proximate tissue and is accompanied by an audible popping sound. If the disruption is of sufficient magnitude (i.e. the volume of the vaporizing expansion large enough), cardiac perforations can lead to “tamponade,” wherein blood accumulates in the space between the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) and the pericardium (the outer covering sac of the heart), causing compression of the heart.
One study concludes that maintaining catheter tip temperatures below 45° C. will prevent steam popping during RF energy delivery. See Watanabe, et al., “Cooled-Tip Ablation Results in Increased Radiofrequency Power Delivery and Lesion Size in the Canine Heart: Importance of Catheter-Tip Temperature Monitoring for Prevention of Popping and Impedance Rise,” Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 9-16 (2002). By contrast, another study determined that steam pops are not related to the temperature of the contacting ablation head, but instead are a strong function of the decrease in target tissue impedance, and recommends monitoring the impedance so that it does not decrease more than a predetermined amount. See Seiler et al., “Steam pops during irrigated radiofrequency ablation: Feasibility of impedance monitoring for prevention,” Heart Rhythm, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 1411-16 (2008).
A draw back of impedance-based measurement to establish good ablation contact is that the organ wall may not have a uniform behavior. Fat areas have very different impedance than muscle areas. The differences make the impedance reading an unreliable indicia of contact integrity. In addition, safety may be compromised because the attending physician may exert a greater contact force to obtain a better impedance indication while not having the benefit of knowing the contact force.
Another study has concluded that steam popping can be avoided by proper selection of power level/lesion diameter combinations. See Topp et al., “Saline-linked surface radiofrequency ablation: Factors affecting steam popping and depth of injury in the pig liver,” Ann. Surg., vol. 239, no. 4, pp. 518-27 (2004). U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0097220 to Lieber et al. discloses a method of detecting subsurface steam formation by measuring the tissue reflection spectral characteristics during ablation.
Another concern with contact ablation techniques is whether the lesion size is sufficient to accomplish the electrical isolation. At the same time, excessive ablation is also problematic. Excessive ablation can cause damage to the tissues of other organs proximate the heart (e.g. the esophagus), and can also damage the structural integrity of the atrium and lead to “breakthrough,” wherein blood leaks through the atrium wall. Techniques to control lesion size during contact ablation procedures include: an impedance measurement between the contacting probe and ground through the target tissue (WO 2008/063195, US 2008/0275440); monitoring the current output of intervening tissues (serving as an electrolyte) during RF ablation for an inflection that occurs before the onset of harmful tissue charring (U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,558); the use of external auxiliary electrodes to increase lesion depth (U.S. Pat. No. 7,151,964); a microwave probe to heat sub-surface tissue in combination with cryogenic contact cooling of the surface tissue to extend lesion depth without harming surface tissue (U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,300); measuring the temperature of the lesion immediately after energy delivery (US 2008/0275440). Several patents disclose methods for cooling and/or monitoring the temperature of the tip of an RF ablation probe to prevent overheating of the probe tip and the attendant buildup of coagulant that interferes with RF transmission, thereby enhancing lesion depth (US 2005/0177151, US 2007/0093806, US 2008/0161793).
Despite advances in the control of lesion size and steam popping, the effectiveness and risks associated with catheter-based ablation can be highly variable. See Calkins et al., “HRS/EHRA/ECAS expert Consensus Statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: recommendations for personnel, policy, procedures and follow-up. A report of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Task Force on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation,” Heart Rhythm, v. 4, no. 6, pp. 816-61 (2007). Calkins notes that the results of catheter ablation are widely variable, due in part to differences in technique and to the experience and technical proficiency of the administering physician.
Catheter-based ablation techniques also present challenges relating to visualization of the procedures and providing the operator indications of success, problem areas or potential complications. Early methods for visualization of ablation techniques include mapping the heart cavity utilizing catheter endocardial mapping (U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,064) which relies on the analysis of electric signals. These early methods proved unreliable and more advanced methods were developed to increase the accuracy of the cavity modeling. More recent methods of visualization utilize a Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan to first model the patient's body cavity at high resolutions followed by a “fusion” with system that establishes a relationship between the 3-dimensional image and physical coordinates. Certain systems utilize a catheter position sensor to create a morphologic map of the organ. Other systems utilize a catheter position sensor that maps the image coordinates of the CT/MRI scan with the sensed physical organ regions in the patient. Some of these systems utilize position sensors based on electrical signals while other systems utilize electromagnetic signals. Still other systems utilize ultrasound arrays to determine location in creating an accurate map of the heart cavity. Commercial mapping implementations are available including the Biosense CARTO® mapping system which utilizes magnetic field sensors and a specialized catheter to detect chamber geometry and EnSite NavX™ Navigation and Visualization Technology which utilizes electrical sensors and a standard catheter to generate 3D models. Still other methods utilize X-Ray machines mated with image fusion technologies such as XMR to generate a 3D visualization of the heart cavity.
A method with rapidly increasing interest is the 3D angiography which utilizes a contrast medium that is injected into the heart cavity. After injection, fluoroscopy equipment rotates around the patient capturing information. Based on the captured information, a computer system is able to construct a 3D rendering of the heart cavity. Recent advances in MRI technologies including Delayed-enhancement Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DE-MRI) techniques have been developed that are providing increased resolution images of the heart cavity without spatial distortion. Other recently developed 3D mapping techniques have been published by Pappone et al., “Non-fluoroscopic mapping as a guide for atrial ablation: current status and expectations for the future”, European Heart Journal Supplements, vol. 9, Supplement I, pp. 1136-1147 (2007), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety except for express definitions defined therein.
However, while 3D visualization techniques have advanced, they are only one component in the analysis of ablation procedures. Traditionally, ablation procedures have been characterized by measuring the power, temperature and/or time of the RF energy being applied. These initial characterizations proved unsuccessful in predicting overall lesion size and effectiveness. Thus, existing technology merely provides the operator with a limited amount of visual information related to their ablation procedure. Existing visualizations may provide the operator with an estimate of power, temperature and time by color coding fixed-size 3D objects overlaid onto a 3D virtualization of the heart cavity. However, there is no technology available that is able to provide an operator with a comprehensive visualization and characterization of the ablation procedure outcome.
Alternative apparatuses and methods for predicting the size of lesions and/or reducing the incidence of injurious steam pops during catheter-based contact ablation procedures, as well as for visualizing the predicted lesion sizes, tissue damage (i.e. perforations and resistive tissues) and isolation gaps during contact ablation procedures would be welcome. A method for predicting the probability of steam pop to better predict ablation therapy outcome would also be welcome.